wedding receptions

[gailstreetParticipant]

I am searching for ideas for my daughter’s wedding reception. She is getting married in the Bountiful Temple this year and I have only attended three LDS wedding receptions in my life and $$$$$$ is limited. Please direct me to some individuals who have done a “do it yourself reception on a budget” as a resource. I would greatly appreciate any ideas.

[Jenny SmithParticipant]

Here are some resources I found online

LDSWeddings.com Money Matters

Jen Magazine – How to save $$ on your wedding

MormonChic.com’s wedding section

Utah Wedding’s Wedding Planner

YSite’s Bride Guide

Good luck with the planning!

[Jenny SmithParticipant]

You can probably borrow the tablecloths from the Relief Society or Activities Committee for the reception.

A fun table decoration is confetti, hard (wrapped) candies, or cut up dollar store flower petals sprinkled on the tops of the tables.

You could buy dollar store frames and put childhood photos of the bride and groom on each table. Make photocopies, or scan and print from your computer, and give them to the happy couple as a gift afterwards. (Dollar Tree is my personal favorite dollar store.) Check the dollar store for fancy serving platters, too.

The cheapest place to buy plastic serving utensils is probably Costco or Sam’s Club, but don’t forget to try your local restaurant supply locations.

An aunt bought cake mixes for the family members and asked us to bake them in 1/4 flat pans and bring them 1 hour early to the reception. She put canned fruit, another layer of cake, more fruit and whipped topping on each. She said it was a lot cheaper than having the cake catered.

One wedding I attended had a potato bar for the meal. They invited family members to bring potatoes, chili, grated chese, sour cream, cheese and broccoli topping, fresh chopped onions and tomatoes, rolls, jello salad, and green salads to the dinner. It was one of my favorite reception meals, and very inexpensive.

Those LDS gyms can seem very big for a small reception, especially one that is serving snacks instead of a meal, so use the partition dividers in your building to block off part of the gym. It makes decorating a lot easier.

[Jenny SmithParticipant]

By the way, just so you know, there is never a charge to use an LDS church building for a reception. Each church building will have a kitchen, tables and chairs that you are welcome to use. You just need to set up and clean up when you’re done.

If you don’t live in the area where the temple is, you can use the church’s meeting house locator at http://www.lds.org to find the nearest churches to your temple. Ask your local bishop or branch president to help you find numbers to call at that church, call on a Sunday when someone is likely to be there, and schedule your reception with the building coordinator.

[Jenny SmithParticipant]

One more thing… LDS receptions are traditionally FAR less fancy than those in other religions. I’ve been to receptions that were decorated with stuffed animals (no lie) because the bride and groom were both pre-vet.

So don’t stress — just make sure there’s plenty of food and some music in the background. Good luck, and this time I really am done!

-j

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